Keep options open until circumstances make change necessary. There is enormous inertia tyranny of the status quo in private and especially governmental arrangements. Only a crisis-actual or perceived produces real change. When that crisis occurs, the actions that are taken depend on the ideas that are lying around. – Milton Friedman (2002)

You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. And what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before – Rahm Emanuel (2008)

The Obama Administration is nationalizing industry, socializing medicine, busting valid private contracts to redistribute wealth to their union allies, and establishing arbitrary caps on the pay certain people can earn. As distressing as this agenda may seem, as dark as the next few years will be, maintaining the viability of free market ideas is essential. While Emanuel may be brutish, his tactics are correct, and free market libertarians should use them too.

As both Friedman and Emanuel noted, broad policy most often changes during a panic. F.A. Hayek, in The Road to Serfdom, made the breakthrough observation that the abdication of personal responsibility in favor of socialism allowed both the Nazis and the Bolsheviks to seize power. Both of these left-wing ideologies had been lying around for some time, but were swept to prominence in a panic.

Domestically, the USA Patriot Act exemplifies the power of a panic. The gargantuan Act that redefined privacy gained 98 yeah votes in the Senate and was signed by Bush 45 days after 9/11. Without the panic of 9/11, such a bill would never have passed, especially in such short order. The bill was reauthorized in 2005 by a wide bi-partisan margin. Speaking to Friedman’s inertia theory, dismantling the Patriot Act is unthinkable. Look to the Democrat super-majority to again both deride and reauthorize the Patriot Act next year. The essential texts of the Patriot Act had been languishing around Washington for years before 9/11, too radical to gain traction. Once panic struck, however, desperate lawmakers reached for any straw and found the Patriot Act.

The prevailing evidence suggests that the economy has bottomed out and that this may be the last quarter of the recession. Still, the Obama Administration has talked down the economy to maximize the value of this panic. With the power of a crisis, they are dismantling the US system of capitalism at a frightening pace.

Where did Obama’s socialist ideas come from? As with the Patriot Act, socialism is an old idea. Even though socialism has been proven to be catastrophic failure, it is the favored social arrangement to the ivory tower set. Academics and media types have favored socialism for decades. Safe from harsh realities, they have kept their ideals alive in the face of socialism’s failures in Europe, Asia, and South America. Even in the face of Pres. Clinton’s denouncement of big government, socialists maintained their faith, waiting for the opportunity to reenter the mainstream. Their persistence has been rewarded.

In the absence of a crisis, the establishment seeks to entrench itself. John McCain, a powerful enemy of the First Amendment, flogged his campaign finance bill endlessly. McCain-Feingold (Sen. Feingold being the only Senator to vote against the Patriot Act) essentially protects incumbent politicians by outlawing competing speech. Incumbents enjoy the bully pulpit, their words and acts are reported in the news free of charge. Their challengers must buy air time to make their voices heard. By outlawing many of the means of free speech, McCain-Feingold further advantages incumbents and the wealthy over upstart challengers to the status quo.

It’s no coincidence that Rep. Pelosi didn’t push the outlawing of right wing radio until left wing radio failed in the market. Her effort to outlaw dissent, or at least chill it with threatening talk, only began when she became the status quo. The political class defends the status quo by outlawing dissent whenever the courts aren’t watching.

Academia and the media are also well known for locking out competing ideas. When looking for an individualist or conservative at Harvard – Obama’s alma mater, pack a lunch, because it will take awhile. The overwhelming majority of academics and mainstream media professionals are socialists, and the anecdotal evidence suggests they systematically close ranks to keep out dissenters.

So, if the status quo is now Keynesian socialism, and the main powers of information and education block dissent, what should freedom loving citizens do? Both Friedman and Emanuel suggest we keep the faith. The ideals of free markets and individual rights must be kept alive to await the inevitable collapse of Obama’s socialist regime. While it is certainly a shame that the Republicans under Pres. Bush corrupted their brand, free market principles remain valid. Perhaps a freedom renaissance won’t take as long as from Goldwater’s trouncing to Reagan’s blow-out victories, but even if it does, there is no other choice than to persevere.

Much like the people who were forced to memorize books in Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, libertarians currently have a slim foothold on the survival of their ideas. Still, the current wave of socialism someday will collapse. The ideas of limited government, capitalism, respect for the Constitution, and individual rights must be alive to capitalize on the crisis or else some other form of tyranny will take the helm. So, for the next several years, don’t be afraid to question the current regime and tell your friends why bailouts and socialized medicine are bad for the US. Not only does speaking your mind feel good, it’s a sound strategy for political progress.